Polymer Chemistry and Biofuels - Bouncy Balls

In the production of biofuels, it is important for scientists to understand the chemical structure of various polysaccharides, a polymer of sugar, because the biofuel production process involves breaking these down into simple sugar monomers, such as glucose, which can then be used to produce biofuels like ethanol.

Th is lesson is analogous to what plants do when building polysaccharides like starch and cellulose out of glucose, a product of photosynthesis. Students will be taking monomers found in glue, and using borax to create a polymer.